Movie house lights up Main Street again

Volunteer Nancy Aiello spearheaded a campaign to have residents sponsor a seat for $150, giving them an inscribed brass plaque. All 312 seats were sold. Following fundraising events, legal tangles, and endless inspections, their nonprofit organization, the Wyoming County Cultural Center Inc., bought the theater for $170,000.

For Margie Young, a retired librarian, the opportunity to run an arts program was "a truly exciting challenge" to bring art, theater, and musical programs to this area.

In one year, she has pulled together nearly 50 different events, ranging from children's art classes, puppet shows, concerts (jazz, folk, and classical), and an after-school playwriting and performing program for high school students.

For example, in one week in early August, 21 children learned about ancient Egypt. All the children created their own costumes, invented characters, and wrote scenes for their fictional personas.

The Dietrich also stages plays. Tom Flannery is a local musician whose play, "God and the Ghost of Woody Guthrie," received its world première at the Dietrich last winter.

"They were all incredibly accommodating," says Mr. Flannery. "Hildy said, 'Tell us what you need.' We built a set and rehearsed there after the movies ended. They did great promotion and publicity, and our show sold out all four performances, and we even did a special show for high school kids. It was a great success - and we all got paid!"

It paid off for Flannery in other ways. His play has since been performed in other theaters, and the Dietrich has invited him back to present an evening of one-act plays in October.

Mainstream movies, which provide the real cash flow for the operation, will soon be balanced with independent films and documentaries. Next month, the Dietrich will launch its first Fall Film Festival, showcasing 14 US and international films in its smaller theater.

And the enterprise is pumping more than movies and culture into Tunkhannock. The theater now employs a staff of 22 full- and part-time workers, adding $120,000 a year to the local economy.

It's been such a success that Morgan is already planning to expand.

"We're negotiating to buy the property next door, an abandoned gas station and mini-mart, to build an extension," she says. "It would be great to have one or two more screens, and beyond that - a performing arts theater, room for classes, studio space, who knows?"

Retired dentist and part-time projectionist Dr. Esther Harmatz attributes the project's success "to the fact that we're not afraid to try new things." She says, "this place was a neglected gem in downtown Tunkhannock. It's a dream fulfilled, and the dream continues to grow."

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